Sanguinaria May 7, 2008

WOW!  Look at this beautiful, bright, cheerful reclaimed mirror.  I love the vibrant colors and intricate pattern of this handpainted mirror from Sanguinaria.  The mirror frame was saved from a death in the landfill  and then painted with previously discarded paints. Ribbons from old pieces of scrap clothing decorate the edges and  recycled electrical refuse wire also makes an appearance!  What an unique creation from a bunch of old trash!!

Sarah, the talented creator of this work of art, features many  different products in her shop- hand dyed yarn, recycled tags, paintings, and recycled envelopes.  It seems that most of her art features bright, bold colors with amazing detail.  Sarah donates 50% of the proceeds from the sale of her yarn toward the scholarship program for a wonderful girls summer camp in Maine.  Check her out to bring a little color and sunshine into your life.

Garbage of Eden April 30, 2008

  Every once in a while, I feel the need to add a little bling to my life.   I found these cool, bright colored bangles from Garbage of Eden on etsy.  An armful of these skinny bangles made by wrapping recycled plastic around a brass bangle is the perfect summer accessory!

Stephanie, the talented artist behind these cheerful bangles, strives to ”design useful and good lookin’ new objects out of materials that would otherwise just sit in a landfill, the streets, or your backyard.”  All of the bags used in these bracelets have been donated to the artist from friends, family or strangers who responded to a post on Brooklyn Freecycle.  What a great way to get the community involved in recycling! 

Not only are these bangles good for the enviroment and the community, but Stephanie donates 10% of the price of your purchase to one of these charitable organizations: Just Food (www.justfood.org), Added Value (www.added-value.org/), Time’s Up (http://times-up.org) and others. 

To learn more about this unique artist, visit her blog at www.garbageofedendesign.blogspot.com.  She offers tips about running a craft business, recycling and shares her love for all things creative!  It is an informative read! 

Bath Product Giveaway April 24, 2008

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite nostalgic items from childhood is the old bath time favorite of the soap on a rope.  I recall when my parents  bought my first one……. it was a bright blue turtle hanging from a woven white rope.  I loved it!  It just seemed so cool to have a shaped soap that I could wear as a necklace.  (Boy was I easy to please back then!!)

The Enterprising Kitchen has resurrected this old favorite with a more socially conscious, green twist.  The Enterprising Kitchen is non-profit organization that enables lower-income women who have been unemployed and underemployed to gain valuable job and life skills while creating beautiful bath and spa products.  The women of the Enterprising Kitchen create their products using only the finest ingredients and purest essential oils. All products are manufactured in small batches onsite at their Chicago facility and they sell to over 300 stores across the US and are available online.  The Enterprising Kitchen is a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

Ananya Studio (And don’t forget Ananya is offering 30% off all their fair trade sterling silver jewelry.  Just enter mom in the coupon code box at checkout.)  is beginning to stock a range of the incredible products from the Enterprising Kitchen.  (As soon as I can get them loaded up on the website.) To kick off this product offering, we are pleased to do a giveaway of their fun, new take on the soap on a rope.   The Enterprising Kitchen crafts their soap on a rope using the recycled, odd shaped scraps from their bars of soap.  Each piece is knotted to create a yummy smelling, colorful line of soap.  To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post.  The winner will be drawn on Friday May 2nd.

Trillium Artisans April 23, 2008

On days like today, when Portland is weighted down under depressing, cold grey clouds for what seems like the thousandth day in  a row, it is difficult to remember why I love Portland and choose to raise a family here.  Then, however, I stumble on something like Trillium Artisans and my love for Portland all comes rushing back. 

Trillium Artisans is a Portland group with a primary purpose to help small, low income crafters form sustainable, profitable businesses for themselves.  As part of the program, Trillium artists have access to product reviews, retail and wholesale opportunities, small business counseling, peer networking, and guest speakers.   Also, artists agree that of the products they sell through Trillium,  the items will be constructed of at least 50% recycled or reclaimed materials.    I love this program because it is supporting independent artists who are committed to helping our environment!!
 

Trillium began in 1999 as Eco-biz  and eventually combined with a business-planning program called the Entrepreneurial Training Program.  Trillium is currently funded by the City of Portland Bureau of Housing and Community Development, New Belgium Brewing Company, and the Oregon Arts Commission through the National Endowment for the Arts.   This innovative program has grown so much that artists now have their own retail store in Southeast Portland.   If you are not blessed enough to live in Portland (I guess I actually do love Portland), you can also purchase products through their website or on etsy.  Both the store and their website offers a range of beautiful, creative crafts that reflect the diversity of this group of talented artists.  When you visit their shop or website, you will find garden art, jewelry, scarves, clocks, hair accessories and too many other enchanting products to list.   

Mvegan5 March 10, 2008

My almost two year old godson is obsessed with owls.  I know I am not biased- this child is a genius.  At 18 months, he was already counting objects correctly and could imitate the sounds of any number of assorted barnyard animals.  One of his first animal sounds was that of an owl.  I loved watching his bright little eyes get bigger as he imitated the who- who of an owl.  Now anytime my sons or I see an owl, we are instantly reminded of my little godson.  Of course, I was attracted to these adorable vintage owl earrings from mvegan5′s etsy shop.  The bright turquoise and green are perfect colors for spring.  These earrings are just one of many owl themed pieces of vintage and recycled jewelry you can find at mvegan5’s shop.

The talented artist behind mvegan5 is a passionate vegan who paints and draws animals “to express and share my love for nature and all living things.”  This artist is the founder of Etsy for Animals, a group of etsy artists who love animals- many of whom donate a  portion of their sales to animal charities.   (more…)

Ronan James February 18, 2008

In my previous life as a Child and Family therapist, I did most of my work with children who had survived abuse, both physical and sexual.  However, as I moved through my practice,  I began providing social skills training for children who had a diagnosis somewhere on the austism spectrum.  These groups were at times difficult, but also quite inspirational.  Most of the children were functioning well enough to be in a school setting with some support but really struggled with peer relationships.  Our group was designed to help teach them some of the skills needed to make friends and have positive interactions with their peers.  In the group, we used art, games and role plays to help them develop these skills.  I was consistently amazed at the art the children produced and the stories behind what inspired each particular piece.

I know this blog is generally focused on Green/Fair Trade issues but when I found Ronan James’s art on etsy, it struck a particular cord with me.  Ronan James is a five year old little boy who has been given a diagnosis on the autism spectrum.  With a little help from his mom “in formatting and delivery”, he creates beautiful paintings and photographs.  Look at this colorful balsa wood pendant featuring a minaturized reproduction of Ronan’s PURPLE STORM painting.

Ronan’s mom also takes Ronan’s pictures and prints them on cardstock or mounts the photos on cardstock to make notecards.  Take a look at the HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL notecard.  The photo features “the heart” of a guitar and was texturized to give it a painted look.  Ronan has some very interesting artwork on his site and I love that 20% of his sales are donated to autism research!  To learn more about this talented artist visit his blog.  You should also checkout, Ronan’s mom, Robyn’s, shop,  SmartLass Glass, where she is currently  selling beautiful blue onyx earrings.  (In her profile, she states she will be adding more earrings and other glass creations soon.  I can’t wait to see what is next!)